Views From The Turnbuckle: What CM Punk Really Said

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.

After 10 months of pretty much nothing but speculation surrounding CM Punk's mysterious departure from WWE, the polarizing superstar finally opened up to the public about his decision to leave the company and to head into retirement, for lack of a better word. There were many theories' surrounding Punk's departure, from injuries, to his dislike of creative and the current product. During his nearly two hour podcast with good friend Colt Cabana, Punk explained pretty much every single reason he left WWE, and not only did it explain a lot about Punk as a person, but also a lot of how WWE works.

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Early into the podcast Punk mentioned something that might not have popped out to everyone, but he mentioned when wrestling was fun for him. He told a very brief story about him, Colt, and a few other guys driving long distances to work in front of small crowds for little to no money. He wasn't globetrotting around the world, broadcasted on television to millions, and making six figures, but he was having fun. Punk then spends most of the rest of the podcast talking about the issues in WWE, from fighting with creative, to arguing with various employees over his salary and royalty checks, from dealing with the management of the company concerning his health, it all came across as a startling contrast to what Punk described earlier in the podcast when he was talking about when wrestling was fun.

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For most of the wrestlers on WWE's roster, the essence of being a wrestler is because they truly love wrestling. With the exception of a few talents that started off working right in FCW, OVW, or NXT, every man and woman on the roster started out in the same exact way that Punk did, working for little to no money, but living the dream. Last week, Tyler Reks spoke to WrestlingINC.com about why he left WWE, and he plainly said that the money wasn't good enough for him to stick around. Not to knock Reks, but if you are getting into WWE for the money, then you will never be able to last. Being in WWE is as brutal of a job as there can be. The men and women who work there travel an unholy amount, with extended stays in a single location being few and far between, all while taking a massive beating to their bodies 4-5 nights a week. Money isn't enough most of the time to motivate someone to do that, they have to truly love it. Punk didn't love anymore, he was sick of it, so he did what he felt like was the reasonable thing to do, and left the company.

Read: Tyler Reks Talks Incident With John Cena And Cena's Reaction, WrestleMania, Getting Into WWE, More

Ask any wrestler what their favorite part about being a pro wrestler is, and most of the time they will say wrestling. What Punk said about wrestling being fun when he was making chump change is nothing new, countless wrestlers over the years have said the time of their career that they enjoyed the most was when things were at their most primal. The simpler it is to go out work a match, and get paid that night, the happier they are going to be. The inherent bureaucracy of WWE contrasts with all of that and clashes with the original ideal that most of the wrestlers have when they first set out to become pro wrestlers. Nobody laces up their boots for the first time and thinks "Wow, I can't wait to fight with the people in finance over my royalties check," or "I can't wait to talk to creative and try and get them to do something interesting with me."

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While it sounds like Punk is never coming back to WWE, the information he gave about working with management is still extremely relevant to the present, and future of WWE. Punk casually mentioned that there were 26 writers working for WWE, and while it was unclear whether Punk was using hyperbole or not, it would explain a lot from WWE. He later talked about the creation of The Shield, and how he was under the original impression that he would be working with them. Instead, he was surprised to find out that the plans had changed and The Shield was being moved far away from him. If what Punk is saying is true, that the company has 26 writers and that dealing with management is a nightmare, it shouldn't be that surprising those things like the original plans for The Shield changed.

Another thing Punk said about creative, and especially Vince McMahon, was that they never seem to have any long term plans for anyone but John Cena. On the surface, it is easy to say that Punk might by exaggerating, and that it was sour grapes, after all, Cena is the man who always got everything that Punk wanted. However, there is certainly some tangible evidence that sympathizes with what Punk is saying. While stars like Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, and pretty much everyone else on the roster seem to fluctuate around the card, with stretches of their careers going without any real creative direction, John Cena has always remained in the spotlight.

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A perfect example is unfolding right now, with John Cena set to work with Seth Rollins at the next PPV. Up until a few weeks ago, the next feud for Seth Rollins was going to be Randy Orton, which appeared to be clear as day. However, Orton was essentially squeezed out of the feud with Rollins, in favor of John Cena. A hypothesis for this was that WWE was taken off-balance by Brock Lesnar taking a three month vacation while being the WWE Champion, so they had to come up something for Cena to do, so he took over Orton's spot. In WWE, Cena always eats first, and everyone else comes second.

Getting back to Punk, he mentioned his relationship with Triple H and how it was never very good, that Triple H never seemed to like Punk. Another hypothesis is that Punk came into WWE with a reputation and a chip on his shoulder, and that he thought he was too good to be stuck in OVW. All of that is pretty much fact, and Punk has said all of that before. The guesswork comes in when dealing with Triple H's reaction to that. Triple H, who by the time Punk was a major player in WWE, had consolidated a great deal of power behind the scenes in WWE, probably disliked Punk for his attitude and his incredible sense of self-worth. Again, evidence suggests that this may be true. Triple H beating Punk cleanly at Night of Champions 2011 didn't do anything for anyone except benefit Triple H, and should be condemned as an abuse of power. People with big egos don't tend to mix well with other people with large egos, and Triple H's ego is no secret, so it was almost destined to end badly.

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While Punk certainly pulled back the curtain a bit on Triple H and WWE's management, most of the actual details behind what goes on in WWE is still extremely murky. Personally, it seems like Triple H probably has a pretty solid grasp on what makes a good wrestling product. However, he also struggles to separate what is good for him and his friends, and what is good for the company. A sign of a really good leader is to know that they are not always going to be right, that sometimes there are going to be smarter people in the room, and while they may have a different view on things, that doesn't mean that they are wrong. Perhaps when Triple H finally steps away from working in the ring, his perception of things will improve a bit, but right now he is certainly not without his faults.

One thing has been made very clear during Punk's career, and that was that he was an extremely prideful person. He thought he deserved everything he got and then some, and when he felt slighted, from getting less money than other stars on PPVs, to not getting his way creatively, to being encouraged to work while injured, that is really going to affect the way he feels towards the company he is working for. Punk felt that he was as big of a draw in the company as anyone, and he worked tirelessly to prove to the people in charge, people who might not have wanted to accept it, that everything he said about himself was true. And to Punk's credit, he was an extremely important member of WWE. He got WWE mainstream attention just by being himself, he sold merchandise, and he was a reliable person to main event any PPV. Perhaps the most underrated aspect of Punk's career was that he was just as successful as a babyface as he was a heel, something no other current member of the roster can really claim. Punk was an elite person for WWE for 5 years, but he never got a chance to main event Wrestlemania. The Miz got that chance, but not CM Punk.

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Lastly, Punk reserves the right to walk away from the wrestling world and never look back. As wrestling fans, we have a certain sense of entitlement, that we always want more, more, more. It sucks to see someone of Punk's caliber walk away when he was in the prime of his career. However, Punk gave wrestling fans a lot of great moments and memories, and while it wasn't as long as what most fans expected, it was still a hell of a ride.

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